Road Hazards

This morning I was out riding with my husband. We happen to live in Cambodia right now and I thought I would share with you some of the road hazzards we come across. I had three memorable ones just today that I am pretty sure I wouldn't come across on my home turf on coastal southern California.

I've attached a photo of the carts that go in the "bike lane." They carry pottery and house hold things that are locally made and sold. It is just better to ride in the road and not the designated bike lane. The big problem is the busses that come from and go to Vietnam on this road. They have no boundaries for their road-rudeness.

As I was picking it up a little for my negative split ride I noticed a guy suddenly start running on the other side of the street. In that instant a cloud of feathers hit me in the face. I guess a chicken was crossing the road (yah, just like the riddle) and probably got hit by a moto or a car. Its lifeless body tumbled right across my path and people were scrambling toward me (toward it) to claim the free lunch.

On a third instance a moto pulled in front of me. The passanger was holding a large, nearly unmanagable wicker basket with a cloth covering it. As the moto came up from behind my left side and turned in front of me to go right a fish, easily as long as my elbow to fingertips jumped across my handlebars. Imagine my surprise!

Anyway - I KNOW I don't have to remind people about taking all safety precautions possible, regardless of the laws. I only just learned this summer that helmets on bikes are not required in California for people over 18. Can anyone varify that for me? I was shocked to hear it from a bike shop dude.

When I'm coaching Spinning® classes I try to pull in my experiences from the road to enhance the imagery and the ambiance of the session. But I typically leave the road hazzards out. No one would believe it anyway, unless they also ride the country side of Cambodia.